The mental math references for healthcare are below. At the bottom of the page you’ll find a list of sources for each figure, with the precise data point from that source.
If you would like to be notified via email when new reference points are published, you can do so below.
Please subscribe me to Mental Math notifications
Healthcare spending
Global healthcare spending
U.S. healthcare spending
EU healthcare spending
China healthcare spending
India healthcare spending
$9 trillion
$4 trillion
$2 trillion
$1 trillion
$200 billion
Note: All dollar figures are in USD.
Healthcare market
Global pharmaceutical market
Global medical device market
Global telehealth market
Global health insurance market
Over-the-counter medicine market
Healthcare IT market
Mental health market in U.S.
$1 trillion
$500 billion
$120 billion
$2 trillion
$120 billion
$150 billion
$300 billion
Healthcare costs
Average U.S. healthcare cost per capita
Average EU healthcare cost per capita
Average cost of hospital stay in U.S.
Cost of MRI in U.S.
Cost of childbirth in U.S.
Flu vaccination total costs in U.S.
Average cost of prescription drug in U.S.
Cost of cancer treatment in U.S.
Average malpractice insurance for doctors
$12,000
$4,000
$13,000
$1,000
$18,000
$156 million/year
$1,000/year per person
$150,000
$8,000/year
Life expectancy and mortality rates
Average life expectancy globally
Average life expectancy in U.S.
Average life expectancy in EU
Infant mortality rate globally
Infant mortality rate in U.S.
70 years
75 years
80 years
18 per 1,000
5 per 1,000
Health issues
Obesity rate in U.S.
Smoking rate in U.S.
Global HIV prevalence
Malaria cases globally
Tuberculosis cases globally
Global cancer cases
Global heart disease cases
Global diabetes cases
Organ transplants in U.S.
40%
12%
1%
250 million/year
10 million/year
20 million/year
20 million/year
400 million/year
40,000/year
General stats
Number of hospitals in U.S.
Number of doctors in U.S.
Number of nurses in U.S.
Average hospital stay in U.S.
Number of surgeries in U.S.
6,000
1 million
5 million
5 days
45 million/year
Sources:
Healthcare spending
Global healthcare spending: $9 trillion— WHO
U.S. healthcare spending: $4.3 trillion— Peter G. Peterson Foundation
EU healthcare spending: $1.67 trillion— Macrotrends
China healthcare spending: $1.059 trillion— Statista
India healthcare spending: $194 billion— Statista
Healthcare market
Global pharmaceutical market: $1.48 trillion — Statista
Global medical device market: $512.3 billion — Fortune Business Insights
Global telehealth market: $128.12 billion — Fortune Business Insights
Global health insurance market: $2.26 trillion — Strait Research
Over-the-counter medicine market: $121.13 billion — Precedence Research
Healthcare IT market: $167.7 billion — Grandview Research
Mental health market in U.S.: $383.31 billion — Allied Market Research
Healthcare costs
Average U.S. healthcare cost per capita: $12,914 — Health System Tracker
Average EU healthcare cost per capita: $3,734 — Worldbank
Average cost of hospital stay in U.S.: $13,215 — Value Penguin
Cost of MRI in U.S.: $1,300 — Tripment
Cost of childbirth in U.S.: $18,865 — Forbes
Flu vaccination total costs in U.S.: $165 million/year — CDC
Average cost of prescription drug in U.S.: $1,200/year per person — Talk to Mira
Cost of cancer treatment in U.S.: $150,000 — Treat Cancer
Average malpractice insurance for doctors: $4-12,000 — Physicians Thrive
Life expectancy and mortality rates
Average life expectancy globally: 73.4 years — WHO
Average life expectancy in U.S.: 76.1 years — CDC
Average life expectancy in EU: 80.1 years — Euronews
Infant mortality rate globally: 18 per 1,000 — UNICEF
Infant mortality rate in U.S.: 5.4 per 1,000 – CDC
Health issues
Obesity rate in U.S.: 42.4% — TFAH
Smoking rate in U.S.: 11.5% — CDC
Global HIV prevalence: 0.7% — WHO
Malaria cases globally: 247 million/year — WHO
Tuberculosis cases globally: 10.6 million/year — WHO
Global cancer cases: 18.1 million/year — Cancer Research UK
Global heart disease cases: 17.9 million/year — CDC
Global diabetes cases: 422 million/year — IDF
Organ transplants in U.S.: 42,800/year — OPTN
General stats
Number of hospitals in U.S.: 6,219 — Statista
Number of doctors in U.S.: 1.08 million — Statista
Number of nurses in U.S.: 5.36 million — Nursing Process
Average hospital stay in U.S.: 4.6 days — Value Penguin
Number of surgeries in U.S.: 40-50 million/year — NCBI
